Canelo Alvarez vs. Lovemore Ndou Tonight

By Eric Thomas: Undefeated WBC Silver junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KO’s) defends his title against what his management hopes to be an easy fight against 39-year-old Lovemoe N’dou (48-11-2, 31 KO’s) tonight at the Estadio Beto Avila, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico. Alvarez has little experience against quality fighters during his five-year pro career but it’s hard to say this is a step up for Alvarez because N’dou is a welterweight, not a junior middleweight, and he’s pushing 40. This is likely going to be another fight like Alvarez’s last bout against 39-year-old Carlos Baldomir with N’dou not having the youth, power or the size to really threaten Alvarez with much in terms of offensive firepower.

Alvarez is supposed to be a potential future star, and his management are bringing him along slowly to keep from getting beaten up and losing his confidence. This is why he’s being matched against older fighters and one that are a lot smaller than him like lightweight Jose Miguel Cotto, who shocked fans earlier this year when he was able to stagger Alvarez in the 1st round with a right hand to the head and tag him almost at will until Alvarez got it together and scored a 9th round knockout.

N’dou hasn’t looked good in quite some time. He barely beat Bongani Mwelase by a 12 round split decision in September and then fought to a controversial 12 round draw with Matthew Hatton in November 2009. N’dou looked to have lost that fight. Tonight, N’dou will have problems because he doesn’t have the size to be fighting the much bigger Alvarez and he doesn’t have his power or youth. This likely will be a stoppage win for Alvarez.

Ideally, Alvarez needs to start being put in with guys that can fight a little. A perfect transition opponent from N’dou to slightly better opposition would be someone like Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He’s a beatable fighter with a fluff record and average skills. That would be a good test for Alvarez. If he looks good in destroying Chavez, then his management needs to move him against better fighters.